How to shop the Co-op, Board News, Bulk Buying, Social Media and your Co-op: Read on...

GLEANINGS - March 2013
News and Notes from your local Placerville Natural Foods Co-op.
535 Placerville Dr. in Placerville CA 95667
530-621-3663 pvillefoodcoop@gmail.com

High5Picks March
How to Shop the Co-op
Bulk Buy
Staff News
Wanted: Co-op Historian
New "Peach Mural"
Co-op Rummage Sale
Bulk Buying Schedule
Board News
GREEN FIRE Event Sold Out!
SOCIAL MEDIA and your Co-op

High5Picks March
15% Member Discounts
Dates
Beets
Kidney Beans
Polenta
Sunflower Seeds

How to Shop the Co-op on a Budget

When you shop at the Placerville Natural Foods Co-op you can help stretch your food dollars by knowing how to "shop smart."

First - buy staples in bulk. When you buy items that are shelf stable (like steel cut oats, dried corn, wheat, etc.) in bulk, you save dollars per pound. When you are a co-op member you can save by buying in bulk. All of your bulk items are only 10% above wholesale. This practice alone will save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Second - Shop the sales. Plan your meals around what's on sale. Not only will you eat a seasonal diet (those items that are currently in season are naturally less expensive than those food items that are out of season), but sale items at the Placerville Natural Food Co-op are less expensive than at large chain grocery stores. Currently the Co-op sales flyer is inserted in the Mountain Democrat and is available at the counter at the Co-op. Pick up yours today!

Third - Buy High5Picks. Each month the High5 Program highlights five plant-based food items. The Co-op gives 15% off each of these items every day of that month. Try some new healthy recipes and save. Check out the free recipes at the store and subscribe to the online e-newsletter Best of Bits & Bites.

Bulk Buy Special for March
March's Bulk Buy is Organic Steel Cut Oats #25 Bags (pre-paid order deadline March 18th).

The Co-op's "by the bag" Bulk Buy program gives deep savings each month on one select "Bulk by the Bag" item. This month it's Organic Steel Cut Oats in 25 lb bags. Huge savings!

Call or email Lisa Stark Hughes at (530) 391-7544 or lisa@swish4fish.com for more information, or place your order at the Co-op register. Order must be in no later than March 18th, so order today. This special discount program is open to Co-op members and non-members alike, so tell your friends.

Staff News

New Produce Clerk/Cashier Chris Calder, formerly from the Ashland Co-op in Oregon, started with PNFC on March 7, 2013. He is the weekend/afternoon produce clerk and a morning cashier two days a week. Say hi to Chris next time you're in the store and looking at those luscious golden beets. "Welcome aboard, Chris!"

General Manager Melisa Clark and six other staff members recently completed a three day training with CDS consultant Mel Braverman. The training was funded by a grant from the Food Co-op Initiative, a non-proft Co-op Development organization run by Stuart Reid.

After a 9 hour group training on Thursday each staff staff member was able to have an hour of personal training with Mel on Friday specific to their department. The GM spent Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon with Mel looking at the overall store picture.

As a result of the training, some changes have already begun. Check out the great looking colorful end displays Lanessa assembled after learning several new merchandising techniques.

Jeremy shows off the new local honey shelf at the Placerville Natural Foods Co-op

New Bulletin Board
A new Customer Communication Bulletin Board is located in the rear of the store across from the soup counter near the Deli. You can leave your written requests or questions on the board and a staff member will respond with a written reply within 24 hours. Together we are the Co-op, help to make it the store you want it to be.

Breakfast with the Prez!

Every third Thursday of the month at 8am upstairs in the Co-op Community Room Bill Scrivani, PNFC Board President will meet with interested member-owners of the Co-op community to listen and share ideas for making our Co-op even a better place to shop and a stronger presence in our community.
Have Ideas? Bring them along.
Donation based breakfast provided by our deli.

Wanted: Co-op Historian

Like scrapbooking? Putting photos in albums?

The Co-op needs a volunteer to keep and organize flyers, news articles, ads, paper memorabilia of all sorts – so that we can record our own history.

Our historian doesn’t have to do fancy scrapbooking; just put items neatly on the pages, with labels and dates. Our historian doesn’t even have to gather all the memorabilia; other Co-op members will naturally help by putting items in a History Box at the market. There’s even a back-log of early Co-op “stuff” currently existing in a place or two.

If this interests you, contact Shirley Woods at the Co-op or use shirleyjwoods@gmail.com

724 Member-Owners Strong & Still Growing!

New "Peach Mural" Graces Co-op Entrance

Ryan Wiley, Co-op member and mural artist, recently completed the new "Peach Logo Mural" outside the Placerville Natural Foods Co-op on Placerville Drive. You can't miss it!

Mural artist Ryan Wiley, and Co-op staff member Carly celebrate the completion of the Co-op's new Peach Mural on Placerville Drive

Carly, one our Co-op staff members, is seen here with Ryan after its completion.

You can spot some more of Ryan's work along Broadway. Keep your eyes open for his bird images at the Paint Spot, Printing Press, and other locations. And of course, in the Co-op's outdoor eating area.

Nice job, Ryan!

Co-op Rummage Sale Coming Soon!
Co-op Spring Rummage Sale will be held on Saturday, March 30th, 8am to 2pm in Dr. Sand's Parking Lot above the Co-op off Cold Springs Road. Remember to save your rummage for the Co-op. All rummage that is left at the end of the day is donated to Snowline Hospice or Partners in Care. Donations can be dropped off, at the Co-op during the month of March. Last October's rummage sale raised $800.00 for the Co-op and we were able to complete our landscaping project. This year's Spring Rummage Sale will be used to pay a new awning for the outdoor eating area (an early storm this year shredded the other one) and for the Grower's Poster Project.

Bulk Buying Schedule

Bulk Buying Schedule at the Co-op for 2013 Your Co-op Bulk Buying Program continues to expand each month. Here are the selected "b(u)y the bag" items for the rest of 2013 (specific items subject to change. Please be sure to check with the Co-op or our Facebook page or this blog for the latest news):

March Organic Steel Cut Oats #25 (pre-paid order deadline March 18th)

April Organic Lund Long White Rice #25

May Organic GOE Whole Wheat Elbow Pasta #25

June Organic Pinto Beans #25

July Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour #25

August Organic Guisto’s Whole Wheat Fine Flour #50

Sept Organic Lund Brown Basmati Rice #25

Oct Organic Rolled Oats #50

Nov Organic Hard Red Winter Wheat Berries #25

Dec Organic Flax Seeds #25

Generally, cut off dates to get your pre-paid bulk order are the 3rd Monday of the months. Items must be pre-ordered, paid in advance, and have to be by the bag or multiples of bags.

Share this info with your non-member friends, too. This is a great way to get non-members involved (they don't have to be a Co-op member to participate) and demonstrate the good things a Co-op brings to our community.

Please call or email Lisa Stark Hughes at (530) 391-7544 or lisa@swish4fish.com.

Board News

Placerville Natural Foods Co-op wants to thank Board Member Tina May for her service to the Co-op. Tina recently resigned citing family needs. Tina has served on the Board the last 6 months and has been a great source of dedication and concern to the needs of our Co-op.

Meet New Board Member John Le Pouvoir:

New Placerville Food Coop Board Member John Le Pouvoir

John Le Pouvoir and his wife Jan have been active Co-op volunteers at the Farmers' Market tabling, native landscape project out front, the rummage sales and more. John is retired from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District where he worked as a computer systems analyst. John and Jan live in Pollock Pines and are also active in the local Maidu Chapter of the Sierra Club, Red Cross, Pollock Pines Community Emergency Response Team, Pacific Crest Trail Association and Desolation Wilderness Volunteers.

John's also a multi-sport athlete who enjoys running, cycling, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and backpacking. He and Jan also do a lot of international travel.

Welcome aboard, John We're grateful for your willingness to "step-up" and take on the additional responsibilities to our membership as a Placerville Natural Foods Co-op Board Member!

Prospective Board Members: Step Up!

Our Co-op needs a pool of member/owners interested in joining the Board of Directors. Board vacancies, especially when regular Board elections aren't immediately pending, need to be filled by interested, involved and informed member/owners. If you might be interested, contact Ruthie Loeffelbein at 530-642-2972 or ru thieloeff@gmail.com.

GREEN FIRE Event Sold Out!

Over 100 people gathered on March 2nd upstairs at the Cozmic Cafe for the PNFC co-sponsored screening of the Emmy award-winning film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold & A Land Ethic for Our Time.

The event, with filmmaker Steve Dunsky of the USFS in attendance, helped to greatly raise awareness of the four co-sponsoring community organizations and the work they in making our County a better place to live in. The four organizations included your Placerville Natural Foods Co-op (about 1/2 of the audience indicated they are members, and as host Tripp Mikich quipped: "That means half of you still need to join!"); the El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (EDC CNPS); the Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation (CSNC); and Season of Nonviolence.

Remarked one attendee: "I think what I liked most of all was the sense of community that the event engendered. I'd wished I'd gotten there sooner and been able to meet more of the folks who came out to see a documentary about (Aldo) Leopold; my kind of people!"

We couldn't agree more!

The El Dorado Chapter of CNPS, the main sponsor of the event, also highlighted their work in helping identify, preserve and protect native plants and habitat in our region, and their ongoing service projects to rehabilitate weed-infested lands in the National Forest and Dave Moore Nature Area in Coloma. For more information on EDC CNPS and their ongoing public programs, contact eldoradocnps@gmail.com or visit their web site at www.eldoradocnps.org.

Funds raised from the event will go to further Middle and High School student environmental education projects in our County.

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SOCIAL MEDIA and your Co-op

This is Tripp, and I've been editing, writing and putting together the Gleanings and Facebook material for the Co-op over the past several months.

I know I talk to a lot of Co-op members who say "Oh, Facebook! I don't know why people bother." And sometimes I couldn't agree more. But let me just give you one example of the power of social media:

When I polled the audience at the recent sold out Green Fire showing and asked how they'd heard about the event, OVER HALF THE AUDIENCE said that Facebook was the way they'd heard. More than word-of-mouth, more than email, more than posters or flyers, more than newspaper articles. So love it or hate it, social meda works!

If you don't want to get on Facebook or Google+ or whatever, hey, I totally get it. But if you're already on FB or Google+, or thinking about "getting your feet wet," keep in mind that your "Likes" and even more so, "Shares" make a difference. So thanks to all our social media fans out there. Keep those "Likes" and "Shares" coming. :) Tripp

End note: I will be moving on to other projects (work with the California Native Plant Society, and the new Land Stewardship Program at America River Conservancy) with this issue of Gleanings. I hope you've enjoyed the new beefed-up format, design and photography, and increased coverage of happenings at your Co-op.

In moving forward, I'll share this:

Membership engagement is the heart of your Co-op. Without your active involvement, the Co-op does not exist. To paraphrase those famous words, "Ask not what your Co-op can do for you, but what you can do for your Co-op." And by extension, what you can do for your Community. Get informed, get involved. Keep informed, keep involved.

It's your Co-op...own it.